A Smart Halo box and a battery are attached to a prototype bicycle as software developers from Charles River Analytics demonstrate bicycling safety technology at the corner of Seventh Street and Carson Street on Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2017, in Las Vegas. Tech developers were in downtown Las Vegas testing a system that allows bicyclists to communicate with traffic signals. Bizuayehu Tesfaye Las Vegas Review-Journal @bizutesfaye

A red light displayed on a prototype bicycle notifies riders of an upcoming traffic signal as software developers from Charles River Analytics demonstrate bicycling safety technology at the corner of Seventh Street and Carson Street on Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2017, in Las Vegas. Tech developers were in downtown Las Vegas testing a system that allows bicyclists to communicate with traffic signals. Bizuayehu Tesfaye Las Vegas Review-Journal @bizutesfaye

There’s a big push by car manufacturers to equip the newest vehicles with technology capable of “talking” to traffic lights in order to predict a red light or a potential collision.

But what if bicycles had the same ability?

A team of developers was in downtown Las Vegas for three days last week testing a system that would allow cyclists to communicate with signals and city-owned vehicles. The goal, they say, is to alert bike riders of road hazards and reduce crashes with vehicles.

“We want to raise their awareness,” said Michael Jenkins, a senior scientist for Charles River Analytics, an “intelligent systems” tech developer in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

“We’re not trying to control bicyclists,” Jenkins said. “We’re trying to give them the information they need to make safer riding decisions.”

Charles River Analytics is in the middle of a two-year contract to develop its MAIN-ST technology, funded by a $750,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

In Las Vegas, Jenkins and his team brought along a portable radio-based system that was strapped onto a pair of bicycles.

The equipment allowed them to transmit signals and communicate with receivers that were recently installed on several traffic signals in the Fremont East neighborhood, which was designated last year as part of the city’s “innovation district.”

A hazard-alert light system known as a “smart halo” was attached to the handlebars, flashing a red light to warn of an upcoming stoplight.

The Road Warrior took a spin on one of those bicycles around the Fremont East neighborhood and found that the “smart halo” triggered only half the time when approaching a red light, even though the project’s computer system showed that the bicycle’s radio transmitter did, indeed, communicate with every traffic signal I encountered during the ride.

It’s a bothersome bug that Jenkins is still fixing.

Another major challenge, Jenkins said, is to make the equipment affordable for casual bicyclists. Right now, the radio-based transmitters could cost $200 to $6,000, depending on how complex you wanted to get.

“There’s a lot of focus around the connected car, but our most vulnerable road users such as bikes also can benefit from this technology,” said Joanna Wadsworth, a program manager for the Las Vegas Public Works Department. “Ultimately, it will increase the safety and increase the awareness of bicyclists on our roadways.”

Seven bicyclist fatalities had been reported this year in Clark County as of Friday, up from four deaths at this time in 2016, said Andrew Bennett, a spokesman for the state Office of Traffic Safety.

Although Bennett said he was encouraged by the technology tested last week in downtown Las Vegas, he noted that bicyclists and drivers “must continue to focus on the issues in play right now.”

“As with all vulnerable road users, traffic safety is a two-way street,” Bennett said. “We remind both cyclists and motorists to follow all traffic laws and to look out for each other.”

More ‘green time’

Geoffrey from North Las Vegas noticed that drivers on northbound Pecos Road are given a long green light when turning left onto westbound Craig Road during the morning and midday. However, that changes around 9 p.m. weekdays, when “maybe four or five cars manage to get the green light” at this busy intersection near Interstate 15.

“This makes some drivers desperate and run a red light because they do not want to be stuck for another cycle,” Geoffrey wrote in an email to the Road Warrior.

Your letter prompted traffic engineers to double the “green time” from 10 seconds to 20 seconds to accommodate those left turns, North Las Vegas city spokeswoman Delen Goldberg said.

Bumpy Beltway

Drivers are encountering a bumpy ride on the southern end of the 215 Beltway. Jack noticed some small potholes that caused his car to jolt along both directions of the Beltway between Windmill Lane and Sunset Road. Neil encountered similar problems near the Eastern Avenue exit.

Earlier this month, crews patched potholes that were discovered along the westbound Beltway between Interstate 15 and Sunset Road, Clark County spokesman Dan Kulin said. Additional potholes that were found in the eastbound lanes and near Eastern Avenue will be patched up soon, Kulin said.

Questions and comments should be sent to roadwarrior@reviewjournal.com. Please include your phone number. Follow @RJroadwarrior on Twitter.

Road work ahead

Downtown

— Main Street is restricted between Fremont Street and Ogden Avenue through Wednesday. Crews are demolishing a building.

— Ninth Street is closed between Carson and Main streets through Dec. 31. Crews are installing water and sewer lines.

— The ramp connecting southbound U.S. Highway 95 to northbound Interstate 15 is closed through January 2018. Crews are building a carpool ramp.

— Main Street is restricted between Bonneville Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard through May 2018. Crews are working on a storm drain.

— Sections of Bonneville Avenue, Charleston Boulevard, Grand Central Parkway and Martin Luther King Boulevard will have closed or disrupted lanes surrounding the Spaghetti Bowl as crews work on Project Neon through July 2018.

Northwest

— Grand Teton Drive is restricted between El Capitan Way and Buffalo Drive from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays through early January. Crews are making road improvements.

East valley

— The ramp linking southbound Airport Connector Road to Warm Springs Road will be closed for overnight work from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Crews are working on overhead signs.

Henderson

— Wigwam Parkway will be closed intermittently in both directions at Gibson Road through the end of December. Crews are installing a new traffic signal and making sidewalk improvements.

— Center Street is restricted between Burkholder Boulevard and Lake Mead Parkway through June 2018. Crews are making various road improvements.

The average gasoline price Friday in the Las Vegas Valley was $2.63 per gallon. It was $2.68 in Nevada. The national average of $2.45 is down 2 cents from a week ago, down 11 cents from a month ago and up 23 cents from a year ago.

Las Vegas police are looking for two men involved in the shooting death of a man outside a 7-Eleven story at Bonanza Road and Maryland Parkway on Nov. 12, 2018. (Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department)

VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System hosts Veterans Day Car Show and BBQ

The 4th Annual Veterans Day Car Show and BBQ is held in celebration of Veterans Day at the VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System Medical Center in North Las Vegas, Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018. (Caroline Brehman/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

The Metropolitan Police Department and Sunrise Children's Hospital held a press conference to get the message out on preventable infant deaths attributed to "co-sleeping" and other unsafe sleeping habits. (K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

No serious injuries after car hits tree in south Las Vegas

One person reported minor injuries but wasn’t hospitalized after a Wednesday morning crash in the south valley.

Las Vegas police determined that a suspicious package found Monday morning at a central valley post office was not a threat.

Suspicious package found at central Las Vegas post office

Police evacuated the area around the Garside Station post office early Monday morning near Oakey and Decatur boulevards.

With husband's passing, family in limbo for workers' comp claim

Meredith Tracy's husand, Russell Tracy, died more than a year ago on his first day working for a new company when he fell 22 feet into a manhole that was not properly safeguarded. His employer was fined $82,000 in penalties for unsafe practices, but the company has denied her workers' compensation claim, leaving her with no compensation since the death. Rachel Aston Las Vegas Review-Journal @rookie__rae

With husband's passing, family in limbo for workers' comp claim

Meredith Tracy's husand, Russell Tracy, died more than a year ago on his first day working for a new company when he fell 22 feet into a manhole that was not properly safeguarded. His employer was fined $82,000 in penalties for unsafe practices, but the company has denied her workers' compensation claim, leaving her with no compensation since the death. Rachel Aston Las Vegas Review-Journal @rookie__rae

Las Vegas family shares flu warning

Carlo and Brenda Occhipinti lost their son, Carlo Jr., or “Junior,” to the flu last year.

Author Randall Cannon shares an anecdote about Stadust Raceway

Author Randall Cannon shares an anecdote about Dan Blocker, who played Hoss Cartwright on the TV show "Bonanza," and the actor's passion for auto racing at Stardust International Raceway in Las Vegas during the 1960s. (Ron Kantowski/Las Vegas Review-Journal.)

Eastbound lanes of the 215 Beltway are shut down by the Nevada Highway Patrol after a female juvenile jumped from the 215 overpass at Stephanie and was struck by a FedEx tractor trailer. Michael Quine/Las Vegas Review-Journal @Vegas88s

Kristallnacht story

An interview with 94-year-old Holocaust survivor Alexander Kuechel who survived seven concentration camps and didn’t leave Germany until after World War II was over. (Mia Sims/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

1 dead in central Las Vegas crash

An early Wednesday morning crash left at least one person dead and another injured. The crash was reported just around 3 a.m. at the intersection of Flamingo Road and Swenson Street. At least two vehicles were involved in the crash, one of which caught fire. Debris was scattered across the intersection as police combed the area as they investigated the scene. Flamingo is blocked in both directions between Swenson and Cambridge Street. Northbound Swenson is blocked at the intersection.

Richard Knoeppel named the 2018 Nevada Teacher of the Year

Richard Knoeppel, an architecture design instructor at the Advanced technologies Academy, named the 2018 Nevada Teacher of the Year on Monday, Oct. 29, 2018. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @bizutesfaye

Mojave Poppy Bees

(Zach Portman/University of Minnesota Department of Entomology) Male Mojave poppy bees exhibit territorial fighting behavior. The Center for Biological Diversity wants the bee, found only in Clark County, to be added to the endangered species list.

Clark County Schools announce random searches

Clark County School District middle and high school students will be subject to random searches for weapons under a new initiative to combat the wave of guns found on campus. (Amelia Pak-Harvey/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Las Vegas house prices are rising But so is the amount of available homes on the market Still, properties priced below $300,000 are selling fast And September was the first time since June 2007 that the median house price reached the $300,000 mark Las Vegas home prices have been rising at one of the fastest rates in the country over the past year Recent data show the market is now less affordable than the national average

National Night Out

About 100 Summerlin residents gathered at Park Centre Dr. in Summerlin on Tuesday for National Night Out. Lt. Joshua Bitsko with Las Vegas Metro, played with 3-year-old David who was dressed as a police officer. Face painting, fire truck tours and more kept kids busy as parents roamed behind them. (Mia Sims/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Rural homeless issue comes to a head in Pahrump

On Sept. 12, Pahrump sheriff deputies told residents of a homeless encampment on private property that they had 15 minutes to vacate and grab their belongings. That decision might face some legal consequences. (Rachel Aston/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Local

Lights FC coach Eric Wynalda lost his home in California wildfire

Eric Wynalda, coach of the Las Vegas Lights FC soccer team, talks about losing his home in the deadly California wildfires during an interview in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Nov. 17, 2018. (Ron Kantowski/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Women face issues from Essure birth control implants

DeVonna "Kat" Normand said she had complications from the Essure birth control implants. Normand uses her Sin City Heat show at 22.3 TakeOver Vegas Radio internet radio station in Las Vegas as a platform to raise awareness about Essure and connect with other women who have used the device. (K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @KMCannonPhoto

Truancy and Clark County schools

Tony Stark, one of 23 attendance officers with the Clark County School District, have a tall order tracking down students who aren't in school.

North Las Vegas Water Meters

Randy DeVaul shows off the new water meters that the city is installing.

Project 150 Thanksgiving 2018

About 100 volunteers for Project 150 box Thanksgiving meals for high school students and their families in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Nov. 14.

This year the park will be celebrating the Northern Flicker. The program is designed to teach about that bird, and encourage people to visit the Wetlands and walk the same distance the bird migrates each year.

Charles and Doris Smith talk about the night an apartment fire took the lives of three of their family members. (Marcus Villagran/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @marcusvillagran

New York artist Bobby Jacobs donated a sculpture to the Las Vegas Healing Garden

Bobby Jacobs, an artist from upstate New York, has spent much of the past year creating a sculpture of two separate angel wings. He donated the sculpture to the Las Vegas Healing Garden. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @bizutesfaye

Weather will cool slightly through the end of the week

The weather will cool slightly through the end of the week., but highs are still expected to be slightly above normal for this year. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @bizutesfaye

Mayor announces new public-private partnership

Mayor Carolyn Goodman announced the creation of the Mayor’s Fund for Las Vegas LIFE, a public-private partnership that will allocate money to the city’s neediest.

Casino heir Ted Binion died in this Las Vegas home in 1998. Current home owner Jane Popple spent over $600,000 to restore and modernize the home. (Marcus Villagran/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @marcusvillagran

Rescue Mission employees terminated

Don James, a former employee for the Las Vegas Rescue Mission, talks about the day his team was terminated. (Erik Verduzco/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Raiders Cupcakes at Freed's Bakery

Freed's Bakery will have Raiders-themed cupcakes available in store and for order during football season. (Marcus Villagran/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @marcusvillagran